Apple To Enter Settlement Talks With Amazon Over The ‘Appstore’ Name

Apple and Amazon are set to enter settlement talks over Amazon’s use of the term “Appstore,” Bloomberg reports. Apple has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against the retail giant, claiming that its Android software store could be confused with its own App Store for iOS. A U.S. Magistrate Judge has now ordered the pair to enter talks and try to settle the case ahead of the trial.

In a court filing made today, U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Laporte direct Apple and Amazon to “confer on March 21 and to bring their lead attorneys and people who have full authority to negotiate and settle the case,” according to Bloomberg. A trial has been scheduled for August.

Apple has been seeking a court order to block Amazon from using the term “Appstore” for its mobile marketplace built for Android-powered smartphones and tablets. The Cupertino company insists that the name is too similar to that of its own App Store, and that it could cause customers confusion. Apple also claims that the term infringes its trademark and violates unfair competition laws.

Amazon argues that the term is a generic one that Apple doesn’t have exclusive rights to. Amazon has already been partially successful in its battle against Apple, with a false advertising claim against the company dismissed by a court earlier this month.